Pouring spout attachment with automatic opening feature

ABSTRACT

An automatically opening pour spout fitment to be applied to a container over location where the container wall has a weakened area. The automatically opening fitment is comprised of a cap which is threadably attached to the fitment and which has a depending cam extending downward from the top wall. The fitment is comprised of a annular sidewall which defines a pouring zone and which provides a boundary for a hinged flap. The flap has an upwardly extending cam follower which is engaged by the cam of the cap such that when the cap is removed from the fitment, the cam initially applies a horizontal force on the cam follower to open the package to which the fitment is attached to.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to pouring devices for containers and morespecifically to spout attachments for liquid carrying containers whichhave an automatic opening feature through use of a spiraling camdepending from the cap and acting directly upon the fitment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pouring spout attachments have been used for cartons and particularlyfor liquid carrying containers. These attachments are typically mountedon the outside of cartons surfaces or have flanges which are secured onthe interior surface of the carton and extend outward through an openingin the container sidewall. Several prior art patents discloseutilization of a pull tab for opening of this container spout. There arealso push in tabs for weakened panel zones within the spouts for openingthe container. Such spouts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,101,999 and4,934,590.

Other patents are known such that the push-in aspect of the spout foropening of the container has a latch feature such that the push-in flapfor the spout remains in the open position. Such a disclosure is foundin U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,112. A drawback to these prior art spouts is thatthey require user intervention for actual opening of the containerseparate and apart for opening the spout itself, traditionally througheither a standard threaded closure or a snap on cover.

Other prior art which automatically punctures or opens the containerupon removal of the cap is found in the prior art. These structureshowever suffer from a drawback in that they require serrated or roughedges to puncture the container wall thereby possibly causing shards toappear in the contents within the container. Such a disclosure iscontained within U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,992.

Additional prior art spout fitments incorporate a third insert or bladewhich is acted upon by an extension of the cap. Inclusion of separateelements which are not integral with the fitment and which requireassembly within the design increases the overall costs of production andassembly. Further, tolerance issues between the non-integral pieces mayprevent the fitment from acting properly to open the container.

There does not exist in the prior art references an economical and easyto use automatic opening pour spout which attaches to a container suchthat the user, upon unthreading of the closure, causes the opening ofthe container without ragged tearing of the container side wall orcreating chaff.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A general object of the present invention is to provide an automaticallyopening pour spout fitment wherein the user, upon unthreading of theclosure, causes the fitment to puncture the container and allow thecontents to be readily poured therefrom.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pour spoutfitment wherein user intervention is not required to puncture thecontainer sidewall.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide anautomatically opening fitment wherein the auto opening feature providesdownward force in a direction which is parallel to the bore of the spoutof the fitment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automaticopening pour spout fitment wherein the puncturing apparatus does notcause tearing of the carton sidewall or generate foreign material withinthe container

A further object of the present invention is to provide an easy openingfitment wherein even rotational pressure is required to open thecontainer through use of the auto opening feature of the fitment.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a pour spoutfitment wherein the rotational movement of the closure on the pour spoutis converted to vertical pressure on the container to adequately openthe container and fitment. It is further desirous to have the pour spoutfitment remain in the open position once opened by the user.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a pouringspout fitment wherein the closure on the pour spout is threadablyattached to the spout of the fitment and wherein the closure has atamper indicating band or other frangibly attached indicator to indicateprior opening of the spout. Further, upon opening of the closure by theuser, the tamper indicating band is fractured from the closure and thefitment pierces the container and opens it for dispensing of thecontents.

These and other objects heretofor stated are met by the automaticallyopening pour spout fitment of the present invention. The pour spoutfitment of the present invention contains a spiral cam depending fromthe top wall of the closure which engages a cam follower on the hingedflap of the fitment. Upon rotation of the closure, the cam causes evenpressure to be applied to the cam follower thereby applying verticaldownward pressure on the flap and piercing of the container for openingthereof.

All of the above outlined objectives are met by the automaticallyopening pour spout fitment of the present invention described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent whenreferences made to the following drawings and the accompanyingdescriptions.

FIG. 1 is a side cutaway view of the pouring spout fitment withautomatic opening feature of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pouring spout fitment of FIG. 1without the closure attached;

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the closure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the closure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the fitment of FIG. 1 with thefitment partially opened;

FIG. 6 is a side-sectional view of the fitment shown in FIG. 1 with acloseup of the hinge area;

FIG. 7 is a top view of an alternative embodiment for the presentinvention of the pouring spout fitment;

FIG. 8 is a side-sectional view of the alternative embodiment for thepouring spout fitment of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side-sectional view of the pouring spout fitment shown inFIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a side-sectional view of the pouring spout fitment of FIG. 7partially opened; and

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the pouring spout fitment of FIG. 7 inthe fully opened position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatically opening pour spout fitment of thepresent invention 10 is shown. The pour spout fitment 10 of the presentinvention is comprised of a threaded cap 20 which threadably engages afitment 40. As is commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in theart, the fitment 40 is affixed to the sidewall of a container or othercarton wherein upstanding sidewall 46 of the fitment extends outwardtherefrom. Typically, below hinged flap 42 of the fitment 40 is found aweakened portion of the container sidewall, the container not beingshown in the figures. This weakened portion allows the flap to rupturethe wall and open the carton when downward pressure is applied.

The fitment 40 is comprised of base portion 49, flap 42 and upwardlyextending sidewall 46. Extending upward from the hinged flap 42 is camfollower 44 which is more clearly shown in FIG. 2. The design of theautomatically opening pour spout fitment 10 shown in FIG. 1 is such thatupon rotational movement of cap 20 to remove the cap from the sidewall46 of the fitment, cam 24, extending downward from the top wall of thecap 20 contacts cam follower 44 causing rotation about the hinge andopening of the container.

With the design of the cam follower 44 and cam 24 of the presentinvention, opening of the cap 20 causes first downard pressure toachieve tearing of the container and then rotational pressure so thatthe flap rotates about the hinge. Cam 24 initially operating on backsurface 45 c in order to apply the downward cutting or tearing force.Continued turning of the cap 20 causes the spiral cam 24 to pass upwardalong the back surface 45 c and in the last 90 degrees of rotation, inthe third quarter turn, the cam 24 acts vertically downward upon the camfollower 44 on the tip portion 45 b.

For example, in the first portion of turning of the cap 20, i.e. first180 degrees, the cam follower 24 contacts the vertical edge or backsurface 45 c of the cam 44. As the tip portion 45 b of the cam follower44 approaches center of the cap 20 (i.e. it begins to move from right toleft as shown in FIG. 1 due to the rotation about hinge 39), the spiralcam 24 passes over the tip portion 45 c and acts directly downward onthe tip for final portion of the opening rotation. Horizontal action istherefore provided upon the vertical or back surface 45 c to providedownward tearing force on the container and then vertical action isprovided on the tip portion 45 c of the cam follower to allow the flap42 to enter through the torn portion and fully open the container.

Turning directly to the design of the fitment 40, the fitment iscomprised of base 49 which provides an affixation point for the fitmentto the container. The base portion 49 may overlay the exterior of thecontainer, may be integrated within the sidewall of the container or maybe placed on the interior of the sidewall of the container with theannular sidewall 46 of the fitment 40 extending outward through anannular opening. In any design, a weakened section of the wall of thecontainer is found directly below flap 42 of fitment 40. This weakenedsection is such that sufficient downward force on flap 42 causes theweakened section to rupture or tear and open the fitment for dispensingof the container through sidewall 46.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the fitment 40 may be of rectangular shape andprovide sufficient area for affixing the fitment to the container.Annular sidewall 46 extends upward from the base portion 49 and forms apouring zone there through in order to dispense the contents of thecontainer to which the fitment is attached. The fitment is additionallycomprised of a plurality of notch apparatus 41 formed along theconjoining section of the annular sidewall 46 and base 49. Notches 41,shown in FIG. 2 as being separate by 90° along the base of sidewall 46are positioned so as to contact similar notches formed on a tamperindicating band 30 which depends from a cap 20. Notches 41 will coactwith these notches on the cap 20 so that the tamper indicating band 30will rupture from the lower edge of the cap sidewall and separatetherefrom.

Returning to FIG. 2, the fitment 40 further contains at least onehelical thread 47 for threadably engaging the cap 20. Upon review ofFIG. 2, it is apparent that the fitment 40 has formed within theconfines of the pouring zone, defined by the sidewall 46 a flap 42. Theflap 42 is hingedly connected to the base 49 via hinge 39. Hinge 39 isdefined as a weakened area of the base portion along one segment of theflap such that the flap may rotate about the hinge line thereby enteringthe container and piercing the weakened portion there below. The flapfurther contains a cam follower 44 which, as is seen in the Figures, hasa slightly triangular shape and extends upward from the flap 42. The camfollower 44 in this embodiment is shown as being perpendicular to thehinge line 39.

The flap 42 of the fitment 40 may generally be about 20 mm in diameterand is separated from the annular sidewall 46 by a slight gap 43 shownin FIG. 2. This gap provides sufficient clearance for the annular flapto rotate about the hinge line 39 and move upward or downward throughthe pouring zone defined by the annular side wall 46.

The cam follower 44, as described above, is shown as being perpendicularto the hinge line 39 in this example. The cam follower 44 may be placedslightly above the center line of the flap so as to provide a positiveangle of attack and engagement via surfaces 45 b and 45 c, as outlinedabove, against the cam 24 and its depending contacting driving edge 23,shown in FIG. 3. Thus, with this particular design, the cam followerallows the cam 24 to provide initial downward force on the flap 42 whenthe cap 20 is rotated in the counter clockwise direction. Hinge line 39allows the flap to move downward when the cap 20 is rotated therebyproviding sufficient downward force to pierce the weakened containersidewall found below flap 42 and then rotational force to allow the flapto fully open the pouring zone of the fitment.

Turning to FIG. 3, the cap 20 of the present invention which works inconjunction with the fitment 40 is clearly shown with the cam 24extending away from the top wall 22. The cap 20 is generally comprisedof a top wall 22, a sidewall 21 extending downward therefrom and atamper indicating band 30 which is frangibly attached to the lower edgeof sidewall 21. Of particular importance in this design is the spiralcam 24 which provides the downward force on flap 42 of the fitment 40.The cam 24 has center post 28 which, as can be seen from FIG. 4, extendsapproximately from the center of the top wall 22. The cam 24, spirals ina clockwise fashion from the center post and descends downward to lowerportion 29. The cam spirals from the center post 28 to lower portion 29and has a contacting driving edge 23 which is defined by the width ofthe spiraling cam 24. Driving edge 23 of the cam 24 engages the camfollower 44 found on flap 42. As previously mentioned, the cam follower44 is positioned slightly off of the center line of flap 42 so that itpositively engages the driving edge 23 of cam 24.

The spiral design of the cam 24 allows the cam to exert downward thrustonto the cam follower 44 along a horizontal plane. As can be seen fromthe Figures, the spiral cam 24 and cam follower 44 provide a means toprovide a downward driving force on the force concentrator which isinitially parallel to the direction of the bore of the spout. In otherwords, the downward force is applied in a direction which extendsthrough the pouring zone of the fitment. Such directional downward forceallows the spiral cam design of the present invention to moreparticularly distribute the downward thrust of the cam as well asprovide more leverage against cam follower by the cap 20. Thus, thespiral cam 24 having depending driving edge 23 acts to drive the camfollower 44 along the rear vertical surface 45 c and tip portion 45 b.By providing a spiraling depending surface or driving edge 23 inconjunction with engagement surfaces 45 b and 45 c of the cam follower,horizontal and rotational pressure is applied to flap 42 ensuring thatthe side wall of the container located thereunder is adequately piercedby the flap.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the cap 20 is further comprised of a tamperindicating band 30 which detaches from the sidewall 21 of the cap uponfirst removal of the cap. The tamper indicating band is provided with aplurality of notches 32 which align directly with notch members 41formed on the base 49 of the fitment 40. The notches 42 of the capreceive notch members 41 and prevent the tamper indicating band fromrotating when rotational force is provided to the cap by the user. Thus,positive indication that the cap has been previously removed isprovided.

Turning to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the flap 42 has been pusheddownward after the cap 20 has been rotated and removed from annular sidewall 46 of the fitment. Reaching the end of its travel, cam 24 is shownpassing over the tip portion 45 b of cam follower 44 and has forced flapinto the full downward position as shown. The flap 42 has rotated aboutthe hinge 39, which is more clearly shown in FIG. 6. The hinge 39 isprovided along a segment of the flap 42 and is weakened line which, dueto its reduced thickness, allows the flap to rotate thereabout. Thehinge 39 as is shown in FIG. 6 may be weakened sufficiently that it isless than one half the thickness of the remaining portion of the flap 42but alternative formations of an adequate hinge are well within thedesign capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art.

Returning to FIG. 5, after full counter clock wise rotation of the cap20, the cam 24 has contacted the cam follower 44 and forced the flap inthe downward position. The contents of the container may now bedispensed through the pouring zone which is defined by the side wall 46of the fitment 40.

Turning to FIG. 7, an alternative fitment 100 is shown. In thisalternative design, the fitment 100 is provided with a stay open featureso that the flap 42, when pushed in the downward position as waspreviously shown in FIG. 5, maintains its open position allowing thecontents to be poured from the container in routine fashion. The stayopen feature of the fitment 100 shown in FIG. 7 is comprised of ashoulder 50 which extends across the flap 42 adjacent to the hinge 39.The shoulder 50 as can be more clearly shown in FIG. 8, extends upwardfrom the flap and rotates forward and downward about the hinge line 39when rotational force is applied upon the cam follower 44. The downwardmovement of the shoulder 50 forces it into contact with the stop members52 and 53 which extend inwardly from the annular sidewall 46 into thepouring zone. Stop members 52 and 53 as are seen in FIG. 7, therebyengage the shoulder 50 after it has rotated downward and, once theshoulder 50 is forced past the stop members 52 and 53, causes the flapto maintain an open position. Therefor, sufficient downward force uponthe cam follower 44 is provided by the cam 24 during rotation of the capsuch that, when the cam 24 has reached the lower portion 29 thereof,rotation of the cap 20 in the counter clockwise and opening directioneventually causes the cam to force the cam follower 44 downward and theshoulder 50 to by pass the stop members 52 and 53. Thus, even at thislower position of the cam 24 and cam follower 44, sufficient downwardforce is provided to snap the shoulder 50 past the stop members 52 and53 so that it maintains an open position.

While a first and a second stop member 52 and 53 are provided, it isreadily apparent that unitary stop members or shoulder elements may beprovided to sufficiently retain the flap 42 in the open position.Further, alternative stay open features for retaining the flap 42 in theopen position after the flap 42 is rotated in the downward directionabout the hinge 39 are well within one of ordinary skill in the art todesign and implement on the fitment 100 of the present invention.

Also shown in FIG. 7 is the force concentrating member 54 which extendsdownward from the bottom surface of flap 42. In the fitment 100 of thepresent embodiment, the force concentrating member 54 is designed sothat a slightly sharpened portion may extend downward from the flap andprovide maximum concentration of force to initiate tearing of theweakened portion directly below the flap 42 along the container wall.Force concentrating member 54 as is shown in FIG. 8, is slightlytrapezoidal in shape but may alternatively be triangular or otherpossible designs. Force concentrating member 54 extends downward fromthe flap and, is shown in FIG. 9 does not extend through the sidewall ofthe container below the flap 42 upon shipment. As shown in FIG. 9, theflap 42 is in a slightly raised position allowing the forceconcentrating member to remain slightly apart from the weakened portionof the container sidewall. The hinge 39 of the fitment 100 allows theflap 42 to be rotated along the hinge in the upward and downwarddirection. As is shown in FIG. 9, the force concentrating member 54 isprovided so that, upon turning of the cap, which is not shown in theseFigures, the cam contacts the cam follower 44 along the vertical surface45 c providing a horizontal force to act thereon pushing the forceconcentrating member downward against the weakened portion of thecontainer. Force concentrating member 54 is thus provided to allow forless downward force which enables the flap to fully open the containerand tear the weakened portion of the container there below.

As can be seen in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, the various positions of the flapduring opening are shown. Initially, as shown in FIG. 9, the forceconcentrating member may be slightly above the weakened portion of thecontainer side wall. In FIG. 10, as the cap is rotated in the counterclock wise direction causing the cam to act upon the top portion 45 b ofthe cam follower, the flap rotates downward causing the forceconcentrating member 54 to extend through the weakened portion of thecontainer sidewall. Further, as the flap is forced downward, shoulder 50may contact stop member 52 and 53 and pass thereby. As the cam furtherrotates and forces the cam follower 44 downward even further, shoulder50 snaps past the projections 52 and 53 due to this downward rotationalmovement. As shown in FIG. 11, the flap 42 is now maintained in theopened position allowing the contents of the container to pass throughthe opening and through the pouring zone defined by the annular sidewall46 of the fitment.

While one embodiment of a cam follower 44 shown in the Figures isdescribed herein to work in conjunction with a cam 24 depending from acap top wall to engage said cam follower, it will be obvious to those ofskill in the art that variations utilizing a spiral cam and cam followercan be incorporated in the herein disclosed automatically opening pourspout. The cam 24 of the present invention, which depends from top wall22, may be varied so as to properly contact the cam follower and providesufficient downward force so that the flap penetrates the sidewall ofthe container. While the embodiments shown herein work sufficiently toprovide such downward force, other modifications thereof are possibleand within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An auto-opening fitment, comprising: a fitment,said fitment having a base and an upstanding wall defining a pouringzone therein; a flap hingedly retained within said pouring zone; a camfollower extending upward from said flap, said cam follower having aback edge surface and a top surface, wherein said cam follower isaligned perpendicularly to a hinge; a cap retained on said fitment, saidcap having a top wall and a depending side wall, said top wall having acam depending therefrom and engageable with said cam follower; said camengaging said cam follower on both said back edge surface and said topsurface during rotation of said cap in a counterclockwise direction. 2.The fitment of claim 1 wherein said cam of said cap is a spiral cam. 3.The fitment of claim 2 wherein said spiral cam is further comprised of acenter post extending downward from said top wall.
 4. The fitment ofclaim 3 wherein said spiral cam extends clockwise around said centerpost and extending outward there from towards said side wall.
 5. Thefitment of claim 4 wherein said spiral cam has a driving face along saidcam, said driving face extending downward from said center post to alower portion thereof adjacent said side wall, said lower portioncontacting said back edge surface during initial counterclockwiserotation of said cap to provide a horizontal force on said back edgesurface, the remaining portion of said cam contacting said top surfaceduring continued counterclockwise rotation of said cap.
 6. The fitmentof claim 1 wherein said flap has a hinge extending along a segmentthereof and wherein said flap is bounded by a gap in between said flapand said upstanding wall, said gap allowing said flap to rotate aboutsaid hinge.
 7. The fitment of claim 2 wherein said cam follower on saidflap is triangular in shape.
 8. The fitment of claim 2 furthercomprising a tamper indicating band frangibly connected to the loweredge of said side wall on said cap.
 9. The fitment of claim 8 whereinsaid tamper indicating band is further comprised of at least one notchformed therein and engageable with at least one notch formed on saidbase of said fitment.
 10. The fitment of claim 8 wherein said tamperindicating band is further comprised of four notches on said tamperindicating band, said notches engaging four notches formed on said baseof said fitment.
 11. The fitment of claim 2 wherein said cap has atleast one thread formed on the interior of said side wall, said at leastone thread engageable with at least one thread formed on said upstandingwall of said fitment.
 12. The fitment of claim 2 further comprising ashoulder formed on said flap; at least one stop member formed on saidside wall of said fitment engagable with said shoulder when saidshoulder rotates downward.
 13. The fitment of claim 12 wherein said sidewall of said fitment has a first stop member and a second stop memberopposite each other on said side wall, each of said first and secondstop member engageable with said shoulder to retain said flap in adownward position.
 14. The fitment of claim 2 further comprising a forceconcentrating member extending downward from said flap.
 15. A pouringfitment, comprising: a base portion and an upstanding sidewall, saidupstanding sidewall defining a pouring zone therein; a flap having ahinge and rotatable within said pouring zone; a cam follower extendingupward from said flap, said cam follower having a substantially verticalsurface and a top surface, wherein said cam follower formed on said flapand is aligned perpendicularly to a hinge; a cap retained on saidsidewall and rotatable thereon, said cap having a top wall and dependingside wall and having a spiral cam extending downward from said top wall,said spiral cam engageable with said cam follower vertical surface andsaid cam follower top surface.
 16. The fitment of claim 15 wherein saidspiral cam has a center post and further wherein said spiral cam spiralsoutward clockwise from said center post to said side wall of said capforming an engagement surface on said cam, said engagement surface ofsaid cam initially operating on said vertical surface of said camfollower, said engagement surface of said cam subsequently operating onsaid surface of said cam as said cap rotates counterclockwise.
 17. Thefitment of claim 16 wherein said spiral cam decreases in height fromsaid center post to said cap side wall.
 18. The fitment of claim 16wherein said cam follower extends upward from said flap in a triangularshape.
 19. The fitment of claim 18 wherein said engagement surfacecontacts said cam on said substantially vertical portion as said cap isrotated counter clockwise.
 20. The fitment of claim 15 furthercomprising a tamper indicating band frangibly connected to said cap, atleast one engageable post formed on said base portion, said at least oneengageable post aligned with at least one notch formed in said tamperindicating band.
 21. The fitment of claim 15 further comprising aprojection on said flap, said projection engageable with at least onestop member formed in said pouring zone.
 22. The fitment of claim 21wherein said shoulder extends upwards from said flap adjacent said hingeand further wherein said at least one stop member is comprised of afirst and a second stop member extending inwards from said upstandingside wall.
 23. The fitment of claim 15 further comprising a forceconcentrating member formed on said flap and extending downwardtherefrom.
 24. A pour spout fitment, comprising: a base portion havingan upstanding side wall defining a space therein; a flap having a hinge,said flap rotatable about said hinge within said space formed by saidupstanding side wall; a cam follower formed on said flap and extendingupward therefrom, said cam follower having a vertical contacting surfaceand a top portion; a cap retained on said side wall and rotatablethereon; a spiral cam depending from said side wall, said spiral camengagable with said vertical contacting surface and said top portion ofsaid cam follower as said cap is rotated.
 25. The pour spout fitment ofclaim 24 wherein said cam follower is triangular in shape.
 26. The pourspout fitment of claim 24 further including a first stop memberextending inward from said upstanding side wall; a shoulder formed onsaid flap, said shoulder engageable with said first stop member whensaid flap is rotated about said hinge.
 27. The pour spout fitment ofclaim 26 wherein said shoulder is rectangular in shape and extendsupwards from said flap along said hinge.
 28. The pour spout fitment ofclaim 27 further including a second stop member extending inward fromsaid side wall, said first stop member contacting said shoulder at oneend and said second stop member contacting said shoulder at the oppositedistal end.